Pages

Monday, November 5, 2012

Hi Folks!
This time the lapse in posts can be attributed to something beneficial. I have not had enough time to post due to crazy amounts of guiding and hunting. I have had a lot of wonderful clients lately and am very fortunate to live in an area that has year round trout fishing. I am fully booked for the fall and winter, but am starting to book my spring clients. I have dates for April that are already starting to fill, so make sure to get in touch soon and don't miss out on the early spring fishing that will be available. Now on to the interesting stuff! I finished off the Pittsburg season in the snow and cold and found lots of nice trout and salmon. I have been guiding on the "Three Rivers" lately and have had some of the most unbelievable "stockie" fishing I have ever seen. The "Three Rivers Stocking Association" really outdid themselves this time around. There are many fish, nice and spread out, and large fish in the mix. What more could you ask for in a local fall and winter fishery? If you are worried about the crowds, don't be. If you are willing to walk, you will be rewarded. Finally, I was able to get out with a good friend of mine during hurricane Sandy, and check out one of my favorite late season salmon haunts. Needless to say, we were rewarded for our efforts with some beautiful landlocks. Next up on the agenda, a few more guide trips and a couple of Salmon River steelhead runs! Here are a few pics, have fun!
-Patrick

Friday, August 31, 2012

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the long post delay. I hope to get better with this as time goes on, but in reality, I will most likely keep hoping and apologizing. Either way, fishing has continued to be great over the past month or so. I have been in Pittsburg for the majority of that time and am now back in southern NH where my teaching job is just around the corner. I should be spending the bulk of my weekends back in Pittsburg as the fall weather starts to take over and once the season has ended up there it will be back to fishing my local waters. I was just contacted a few days ago by the Three Rivers Stocking Association to see if I would be willing to donate a Pittsburg Trip for their annual fall fundraiser and I happily agreed. I have done this for the past few years and feel that it is the least I can do to help a fishery that in the end helps me. I believe that the fundraiser will be on September 24th this year in Portsmouth. More details will follow as the event gets closer, but it is a great time with many wonderful auction items that go for way too cheap each year! I have a few openings left for Pittsburg and a few left for the local rivers after October 15th. If you are interested in taking a trip feel free to send me an email or give me a buzz. patrick@fishstoryguideservice.com

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Hello everyone! I have spent the last three weeks guiding, fishing and exploring more than I ever have in Pittsburg. I have been fishing Pittsburg since I was six years old and spent each summer at my family's camp on the 1st Connecticut Lake. Over the years I have been lucky enough to have lots of time to check out more than just the "Trophy Stretch." That being said, I will be the first to admit that I still have not even scratched the surface of what I feel Pittsburg really has to offer. I really do not think many people have. For me, this is what keeps me coming back and really enjoying that area of NH. I have had many awesome clients lately, fishing has been great and I look forward to getting back up for another extended trip soon. I do have some open dates available for Aug 13th - 26th if anyone would like to do a little fishing up north. Let me know! In the meantime, here are some of the highlights from the past three weeks in Pittsburg. Enjoy!
-Patrick

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I was all over Pittsburg the past two weekends and hoped to find some large fish. Well I did, and some were in interesting spots. I hooked a nice fat stocked brookie that just looked like a cool fish, in the trophy stretch. Then I checked out a few other spots only to find a couple of big browns. My father was with me a few weekends ago and I was with a few friends this past weekend, both trips were great. Everyone was catching fish and having a blast, which is really what it is all about. We did not encounter the crowds, but only because we fished certain areas at specific times to avoid them. I always get a kick out of people who say they will not fish Pittsburg because it is too crowded. Awesome! More room for those of us who are willing to walk a bit or pick and choose when to fish. I also enjoy talking with people at certain times. I have learned more from other people in Pittsburg than just about anything else. My tip would be to chat with anyone you can up there. People love to tell you what they know! I have met some of the nicest people of my life while fishing in Pittsburg. I am on my way back up again this weekend and will be doing a little hiking and searching for some more monsters. The best part about Pittsburg is that you never know what you are going to get! There are some serious monsters in that town! I have openings for July and August in Pittsburg. If you are interested, let me know soon!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Wow, its been a while! Sorry for the delay! I will say this, my posting drought is mostly due to an extremely great month of May fishing. It has really been awesome lately and I am happy to report that Pittsburg is back in action as well. I am currently done booking southern N.H. until the fall. Thank you very much to all of the great clients I had the pleasure of guiding so far this year. I have a lot of availability for Pittsburg in July and August but it is starting to book. If you have any interest in learning about Pittsburg and what type of fishing it has to offer let me know. I would be happy to show you the area. Here are some pics of the past few weeks.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

This past week has been one to remember. We fished in the pouring rain on Monday and then it got cold. By the end of the week it was blowing 40 MPH and bright sunshine. Through it all, the fishing has been downright outlandish. The water levels came back up with the rain and the local rivers are starting to fish a little better again. I have been out in search of river run fish as well as the stockies and the cool part is that I have been finding more holdover fish than anything else. I am booked full for the southern part of the state as of today, and now am shifting my focus to Pittsburg. I have been getting calls for the summer up there and will be going up soon to check things out for the upcoming season. If you are interested in booking a trip in Pittsburg this summer make sure to get in touch soon as dates are filling. Here are some of the gems we managed to land in the past week! Enjoy!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Hello Everyone!
I had the pleasure of guiding a good friend, Steve, on Saturday and a return client, Bill, on Sunday. Steve was a first time fly fisherman, though he is an experienced spin fisherman. He made the transition from the spin caster to the fly rod look pretty easy and the day was filled with many hookups and even some trophy sized fish landed. Not too shabby for a beginner! Bill has been working on his technique and is really starting to see the rewards for his efforts. He landed a half dozen large fish in a six hour session. The numbers may not be high this time around, but the quality of fish we have been landing is just amazing. I am really having a great time helping my clients land fish that I would be more than happy to catch myself. It looks as though our rain dances might be paying off as it is starting to rain as I type this and is supposed to rain hard all night and into tomorrow morning. We surely need this and I am certainly not complaining! On a side note, I am starting to book up my Pittsburg summer trips, make sure to send me an email to reserve a spot if you are interested. In the meantime here are the pictures from this weekend!

Monday, April 16, 2012

The water levels are at an all time low for this early in the season. We are in desperate need of rain or else our southern rivers season will be ending early this year. I bumped into a Conservation Officer and after he checked all of our licenses we talked about low water conditions. He offered that without rain it looks as though most of the fish designated for stocking in our rivers could be put into ponds and lakes instead. Being a river guide, I am hoping for some real rain soon. In the meantime, we will make do with what we have available. In reality this has been one of the best early spring seasons of fishing that I have ever seen. We are still catching lots of fish and some monsters at that. I had two sets of clients this past weekend and there were some personal bests caught by some very well traveled anglers. We had to really work for the fish and explore a decent amount of water, but there are fish to be had. I am looking forward to guiding a bunch of new clients over my April vacation and my Pittsburg trips are starting to book. If you are interested in doing a trip up in Pittsburg N.H. with me anytime from late June until the end of the season let me know. I have many weekdays available as well as weekends. Here are a few pictures of clients with fish from this past weekend!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

There are many who would argue that early spring is the best time to find large fish. I am one who considers the fall my favorite time to pursue the larger fish. Well, I may be leaning a little more in the direction of spring after an outing I had this past weekend. I had a few hours early in the morning and went to a favorite spot of mine. I was there by sun up and started to fish some streamers in order to "search and destroy." Well within the first 15 minutes I was having no luck at all and decided to change it up as I usually do when things aren't going quite right. I switched over to my feedinators and a few other droppers and immediately started to hook up. The fish were hitting hard and I was having a great time. Overall two and a half hours of fishing and over a dozen fish landed... Mostly nice salmon and bows. The moral of the story, when things aren't working, change. As my good friend Tom always says, " If it's not working, change. It doesn't matter what you change. Change tippet, change flies, change spots, change your underwear if you have to! Do whatever it takes, change." As always, enjoy a few pics!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Well, I had my first few clients of the year this weekend and all and all the fishing gods were good to us! Today was capped off by one of the most amazing stone fly hatches I have ever seen. They were just everywhere. All over our clothes, all over the water and the fish went ballistic for them! We tossed on a black stone fly pattern and the rainbows did the rest. One hour, 4 rainbows, all on drys, on April 1st. The best part is, the fishing will only be getting better from here on out! Ahhhhh.... all is right in the world again.... enjoy!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Hello Everyone!
The weather has been unbelievable lately, the water flows are perfect and the bugs are starting to hatch. What more can we ask for? How about some fish on the end of our lines! I have been out fishing lately and more importantly scouting areas for upcoming clients. Things really are starting to come together. The stocking trucks are rolling and there are still holdover fish in the local rivers. I have a lot of bookings for the month of April and I am really looking forward to meeting and fishing with many new clients! I will be at the vice making sure to tie up all of my go to flies in order to be completely stocked. I have only a few spring dates left available for southern rivers, so if you are interested let me know soon. I do have many open dates still for my summer Pittsburg trips though. If you are interested in learning what Pittburg NH has to offer, feel free to set up a trip. I will be available in Pittsburg for the entire month of July as well as the majority of August. I also wanted to say a very big thank you to all of the people who attended my presentation on Fly Fishing Pittsburg at the Pelham show. I really enjoyed sharing my experiences with you all. As always if you have any questions at all feel free to email me at patrick@fishstoryguideservice.com . In the meantime get out and enjoy some early season fishing!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Well, it is beginning to feel a little more like spring each week. March is a mere week away and the Pelham Fly Fishing show is this coming weekend. I will have a booth set up once again at the show and will also be doing a presentation about Fly Fishing in Pittsburg this year. If you are interested in hearing what Pittsburg has to offer, you can come over and join us at 2pm this Saturday or Sunday at the Pelham Fish and Game Club.
I am also going to be offering my "March Madness" deal for the entire month of March again this year. If you book a trip with me anytime April-November, during the month of March, I will take $25.00 off of the trip price. I had quite a few clients take advantage of this offer at the Pelham show last year and hope people will continue to this time around.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Hello again everyone! I was lucky enough to be invited to a little fly tying party over in Portsmouth yesterday and I had a blast! I was able to sit and chat with friends over a few good drinks and great food, retell old fly fishing tales and tie up a few bugs. There is nothing that quite gets your blood moving for the upcoming fly fishing season than tying up flies that you know will be in a fishes mouth very soon. Check back to my blog next weekend for a few big announcements including the annual "March Madness" deals on guided trips! In the meantime, enjoy the pictures.
﻿

Sunday, January 29, 2012

I was finally able to talk my father into going fishing with me this past weekend. I had a spot in mind and it has really never let me down. My father has never done any winter fly fishing and I figured I better make it an enjoyable experience if I want him to come along again in the future. Luckily for him on his third cast of the morning, he hooked into a 17" rainbow. The day would bring more fish and he was able to return the favor by taking a picture of me and my 20"er later in the day. As for the fly of the day.... my Feedinator strikes again! Until next time, enjoy the pics!
﻿﻿﻿﻿

Sunday, January 15, 2012

I plan on trying to do some random writing this year on all topics fly fishing. Most of the time it will be just my thoughts on certain topics. I hope that people may find it interesting and learn a thing or two, but also I enjoy hearing other thoughts through comments. My first thought of the year is about winter fly fishing. I usually get out fly fishing all winter long based on the temperature and my schedule. I have done some winter fishing already and had success. Usually it is not easy, but every now and then luck is on my side and things just work. I suppose my main thought here is that winter fishing can be a lot of fun if you are prepared. If you dress correctly and make sure to move around a little, fishing can be fun and productive with temperatures into the low 20's. I really do not like when the guides of my rod ice up and when that becomes a large problem, I usually stop and call it a day. The last thing I want to do is create a situation of frustration when I am fly fishing. I fish to relax and enjoy the day. There are certain "ice paste" products that you can use to help keep the ice away, but usually they do not last all that long. Nature will always win. If you do use the paste, be sure to apply it the night before in the warmth of your home. I find that it creates more of a barrier when applied warm. Hand warmers are also a great way to keep your fingers functioning in the cold. I usually put one in each fingerless glove and it will last me all day. As for now I am off to tie up more flies for the fast approaching guiding season. If you are contemplating booking a trip in 2012, shoot me an email and we can set up some dates. The book is starting to fill! Here is a pic of a winter bow. Enjoy.